Exclusive: Pure Storage reveals new innovations during roadshow

Pure Storage has announced several new products and features, including Zero Move Tiering and file storage services, during the Accelerate roadshow.

It comes as the roadshow will be making its next stop in Melbourne on October 29.

These announcements aim to simplify data management, improve efficiency, and offer customers more flexible and scalable storage solutions.

The company's Area Vice President for Australia and New Zealand, Amy Rushall, talked to TechDay in an exclusive interview, where she discussed the broader context of the announcements and the company's continued growth in the ANZ region.

"Our continued growth is a testament to the strength of our platform," Rushall said. "We are helping customers eliminate complexity by providing a unified storage-as-a-service solution that covers all their data needs."

Rushall highlighted that the roadshow, which started in Mumbai and will head to London, comes as Pure Storage continues to see strong growth, particularly in subscription services driven by Evergreen One.

"These innovations are critical for helping our customers navigate the challenges they face today, from AI-ready infrastructure to reducing the complexity of managing multi-cloud environments," Rushall added.

Mark Jobbins, Chief Technology Officer, also spoke with TechDay to delve into the latest product announcements.

Reimagining File Storage with Real-time Enterprise File

One of the standout announcements was the introduction of Real-time Enterprise File, a new service aimed at transforming how modern workloads are handled. Jobbins explained how this new approach addresses the limitations of traditional file storage, which has struggled to keep pace with the fast-moving demands of applications like AI, analytics, and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

"Legacy file storage often forces organisations into rigid silos that can't adjust to dynamic business changes," Jobbins said. "Real-time Enterprise File delivers agility across global storage pools, allowing businesses to maximise their resources in real-time without complex planning."

At the core of this innovation is Pure Fusion, an orchestration layer that automates workload placement and resource allocation across an organisation's storage arrays, simplifying the management of large-scale environments.

Introducing Zero Move Tiering

Jobbins also revealed Pure Storage's new Zero Move Tiering, a groundbreaking feature that allows data to remain on the same platform, dynamically allocating resources between hot (frequently accessed) and cold (less frequently accessed) tiers without needing to physically move data between systems.

"We don't think traditional tiering methods make sense anymore," Jobbins said. "With Zero Move Tiering, we're able to dynamically adjust performance without physically shifting data, ensuring customers get the best of both worlds – high performance for hot data and cost-effective storage for cold data."

Jobbins highlighted that this feature is an industry first, aimed at simplifying data management for customers with large datasets. "Our customers can reduce operational errors and minimise disruptions by keeping everything on the same platform," he added.

Expanding the FlashBlade Product Line

Pure Storage also announced the expansion of its FlashBlade product line with the introduction of the S100, S200, and S500 models. These new offerings provide a lower entry point for customers and allow for seamless scaling as their data needs grow, thanks to Pure Storage's Evergreen architecture, which supports non-disruptive upgrades.

"Our new FlashBlade models give customers more options to start small and scale up as their data needs evolve," Jobbins said. "The S100, in particular, offers a lower entry point, while the S500 is aimed at customers needing higher performance."

Jobbins added that this flexibility would be particularly beneficial for organisations looking to grow their infrastructure without overhauling their existing systems. "The Evergreen architecture ensures that customers can scale non-disruptively, which is a huge advantage in today's fast-paced business environment."

Universal Credits: Financial Flexibility for Modern Enterprises

Another major announcement was the introduction of Universal Credits, an industry-first feature providing unprecedented financial flexibility. With Universal Credits, businesses can purchase a pool of credits that can be allocated dynamically across different storage services without being locked into specific subscriptions.

"Universal Credits are a game-changer for customers who need to balance resources across on-prem, hybrid, and cloud environments," Jobbins explained. "This model allows them to allocate resources where they are needed most, giving them the agility required in today's constantly changing market."

This flexible model, which has seen rapid adoption across Australia and New Zealand, empowers customers to consume storage as a service, reducing upfront costs and offering predictable billing.

AI and VMware Innovations

In addition to its core storage innovations, Pure Storage introduced new features in its AI and VMware offerings. The Generative AI Copilot, now integrated into Pure Storage's management suite, allows users to gain deeper insights into their environments using natural language queries.

This feature aims to reduce the burden on IT teams by providing quick snapshots of system performance and identifying areas that need attention.

"Our Generative AI Copilot simplifies environment management by offering insights in real time," Jobbins said. "It's particularly useful for teams with mixed skill sets, enabling them to make informed decisions without needing to be experts in the system."

Pure Storage also introduced VM Assessment functionality to help customers manage their VMware environments more effectively. This tool provides greater visibility into VMware fleets connected to Pure Storage arrays, allowing customers to make informed decisions about their virtualisation strategies, especially in light of Broadcom's acquisition of VMware.

"We're helping our customers navigate the uncertainty surrounding VMware's future," Jobbins added. "Our new VM assessment functionality provides them with the insights they need to optimise their virtualisation environments, whether they choose to stay with VMware or explore other options."

Sustainability and Capacity Expansion

Addressing growing concerns around sustainability and resource management, Pure Storage announced that its Direct Flash Modules have doubled in capacity from 75 TB to 150 TB, with plans to introduce 300 TB modules in the near future. These modules allow customers to store more data in a smaller physical footprint, helping reduce the energy and cooling requirements in data centres.

"Our Direct Flash Modules are not only increasing in capacity but are also helping our customers manage their data more sustainably," Jobbins said. "By consolidating more data into smaller spaces, we're helping to reduce the carbon and energy footprint of data centres."

As the roadshow heads to Melbourne, customers in Australia and New Zealand will have the opportunity to experience these new offerings firsthand.

"We're really excited to showcase these innovations in Melbourne," Jobbins added.